13 years to opening; 4 days to full consumption (with a little help from some friends I might add!).

It doesn’t seem like that long ago I was writing about the Kermesse, June 2009. I cannot believe how fast this school year has passed by and there is now only one week until the commencement of the La Grande Vacance; 2 wonderful Summer months of  family, friends, new places,  exploration and discovery.

The annual Kermesse has proven a memorable and special way to mark the passing of another academic year and this year’s event lived up to all expectation; an expectation set by our last two experiences and the total excitement and eager anticipation of medocjnr1 and medocjnr2; this was the first experience of Kermesse participation for  jnr2 and she’s been singing herself to sleep for 6 weeks, whilst beating out new steps.

For reasons that will become apparent as time goes by,  this year’s Kermesse was always going to be special for our family and certainly I will always remember it.  From the Penguins:

to the Eskimoes:

to the Early Settlers:

Once again the teachers and children went to incredible efforts to put on a “spectac” full of energy, creativity, colour; all accompanied by most wonderful tunes.  As each school year came out to perform their contribution, or support those younger than them with their performance, I was warmed by how inclusive, supportive and respectful the children seem to be of each other.

You sense a real pride and sense of achievement in those who remember the steps and words they have spent hours of practice learning; but more importantly you see fun and happiness combined with a sense of the children belonging to an institution they feel safe and encouraged within. Not for the first time a school event brought a tear to my eye and I certainly wasn’t the only parent who looked like the spirit of the event hadn’t triggered just a little bit of emotion.

It is true I don’t have a school, or educational system, to compare our local school to but I do know I could not have wished for a better start to our children’s social, artistic and academic education. The Kermesse, common throughout Primary Schools in France, is a real credit to the education system here. From my perspective it encapsulates, in a celebratory way, all that is good in early years’ French education; though I can’t believe all primary school teachers in France are as creative as ours prove to be via the Kermesse and various handicrafted gifts that have come home through the school year. By way of example – eskimo plus canoe:

A big hand to all those involved in the Kermesse this year. I was only sorry to miss the post Kermesse picnic; especially given the way the England team played that night …

The annual Tournée des Cuviers took place yesterday and once again it was a great event; despite the battering Atlantic winds!

With all the rain we’ve had over the past week I was slightly concerned I’d be more in need of a boat than my faithful running shoes. Incredibly the rain stopped just in time for the children’s races,  organised by the local school, which commenced proceedings with a wonderful spirit of participation for all.

Two dear friends organise the event with the support of a committee of local residents. The event embraces all from the youngest to the eldest with the children’s races, a randonnee and two senior races – 8km and 17km. There are individual and team awards in the senior races,  with  friendly competition between various Chateau teams; my colours were pinned to Capdet for 2010!

The event is a celebration of sport but also of Listrac (the town and appelation), the surrounding countryside and local Chateaux. The race alternates between the two sides of Listrac and this year the trails were on the East side of the town with the longer course passing through Chateaux Lestage, Clarke, Peyre Lebade, Gobinaud, La Lauzette, Moulin d’Ulysse, Cap Léon Veyrin, Donissan, Reverdi, Fourcas-Dumont and Saransot Dupré.

(image copyright association La Tournée)

Running past wine vats and through rows of wooden barrels is a welcome distraction from the increasingly tiring kms, and there are tastings for those who are not out to race their personal best, or who are enjoying the more leisurely randonee. The Chateau should be applauded for allowing hundreds of runners to trample through their properties!

The coolness of the Chateau was certainly welcome to someone who started to burn out 3kms too early but  I reserved the wine tasting  for the post race party; a fabulous tonic to the day’s exertion and in it’s own right a great, local event.

Here are additional images of what is a very special and welcoming event that has certainly become part of our family’s annual calendar:

To suggest we are now experiencing the first days our longed for Summer would be to bypass Spring but, with temperatures of 26 degrees today, it seems we’ve missed out on the seasonal interlude between our freezing Winter and, dare I type it, Summer 2010!

The weather in this region can be wonderful and (allegedly) those of us who live in Gironde “33″ get to enjoy nearly as much sunshine as is celebrated along the Côte d’Azur.

After what has seemed a long 4 months of “Winter” (with accompanying storms) it is easy to forget how spoilt we were with the sunshine from March-October 2009. Summers here tend to be long and toasty with winters that are mild to freezing, dependent on your location. This is the climate that enables production of what many consider to be the world’s greatest wine.

Out last outdoor meal of 2009 was in mid October, and the first of 2010 was today. And so I raise my glass to the first signs of Summer!

Our local school celebrated “Carnaval” at the weekend. As I followed two tractor pulled floats (that the school children created on the theme of “fairytales”), and then stood witness to “Monsieur Carnaval” being burned to the ground, I did wonder what I was actually taking part in.

The children all seemed delighted to be dressed in their favourite disguise whilst laughing, dancing and throwing confetti in the centre of town. They then crowded around a makeshift enclosure to watch Monsieur Carnaval burn to a pile of ash before eating their way through a mountain of crepes and sweets; going home full of Carnaval cheer and sugar.

I certainly applaud the way, that with moderate regard to health and safety, events such as these are permitted to take place throughout France. A quickly erected fence plus a call for parental control (of their children) meant everyone enjoyed a real celebration – but a celebration of what? I decided to do some research in an endeavour to feel more informed for next year.

It transpires that Carnival (Carnaval/ Karnawal/ Carnevale ….) is the name given to the festive season which occurs immediately before Lent, with the main events usually taking place in February; at which time most of our community was on holiday for two weeks so the Carnaval got bumped to March.

The festival of Carnival is traditionally held in Roman Catholic communities. Catholics are not meant to eat meat during Lent and the festival of “Carnevale” has been held to originate from “Carne Levare”; “away with the meat”. Protestant regions don’t tend to celebrate Carnival though Shrove Tuesday in the UK is considered by some to be a modified form of Carnival.

As with our local event a Carnival usually incorporates a public parade combining costumes, masks and face paints, and then a street party. Participants are supposed to be marking an overturning of daily life; whether that be not eating meat or some other alteration in their life. Our Monsieur Carnaval got burned with a pile of coloured papers on which were written things the schoolchildren wanted to get rid of from their lives– banana compote in the canteen; endless homework; pollution; crime; war; the bad weather ….. everyone seemed pleased to see the banana compote go to the flames …

Many people have heard of the Rio Carnival, and Mardi Gras in New Orleans, but the original Carnival celebrations (c.1294) were actually held in Nice, France, where the people of the town enjoyed plentiful amounts of the local cuisine before fasting for 40 days (for Lent). Apparently all excesses were authorized during the weeks of celebration leading to Lent. The people of Nice were permitted to make fun of everything and everyone without recourse until the last day of Carnaval – Mardi Gras (“Fat Tuesday”). The Nice Carnival still takes place every year in February and attracts some 50,000 people; the website has some great tunes too!

Our Carnaval was a lot smaller in terms of scale but it was certainly a happy event, and the parents’ association put a huge amount of effort into making it happen; as they always seem to.

The next event is the Lotto; this year could be our year …

I love the Atlantic coast of SW France; come rain, shine or amateur artiste!

It’s been some time since I wrote a post and probably the only person very disppointed by that is myself.

Having got into a regular pattern of posting I’ve been more than a little distracted since December and certain things, that remain important to me, have been chilling out on the wayside while I juggle more pressing issues.

I am now in a position of being near to sorted on the fronts of distraction and so to a quick review of the last 2 wintery months in the Médoc; to get myself back into the swing of things.

Freezing temperatures and copious rain – when we’ve not been safely huddled in the environs of our woodburner we’ve been sloshing in puddles and enjoying the temporary lake-like nature of our garden. It has, allegedly, been the coldest Janaury in France since 1987 and not having experienced that one I can only concur that last month was “cold”.

Bilingual children & humble pie – this Winter has witnessed the blossoming of jnr 1 into a child who can more than hold his own in French, and a jnr 2 who is racing up behind him. Not only have the local school continued to be hugely supportive and constructive in their dealings with the jnrs but the additional support of new friends has been a valued catalyst in enabling the jnrs to get the very best from their time in the Médoc. Seeing your children excel at something beyond your own capabilities, and witnessing the sheer kindness of those who have helped them do it, is very humbling.

New business and new acquaintances – we are about to launch a new business and that has taken a lot of my spare attention and time since late November. Our investors of course rock and without their investment and support our plans would still be just that, plans; so a big thank you to them is often in mind! It’s now  up to us to deliver on the belief they have placed in us.

Through the business planning we have seen new sides to Bordeaux and the Médoc region; we’ve gained more insight into what commercial activities exist here, not just the production and export of wine.  We’ve seen new places and met a range of new people who have all had something to contribute; positive or negative.  It’s been a real period of learning and, as a result, reflection.

Running, baking, family & friends – Sundays through the Winter have seem me doing a lot of running,  and a lot of baking. I can’t imagine not doing either and each has played their part in developing friendship and family memories. As a virtue and vice producer the running and baking seem to balance pretty well; and the racing season is about to commence!

Family and friends, near and far,  have been a constant too;  in a very valued and happy way.

The landscape - our surroundings have been bleak through Winter to date.  The sea has been grey, wild and ripe for surfers. The vines have been cut back to spindly twiggy frames across the horizon. The trees, in the main,  have lost their leaves;  revealing distant roads and making the line of sight easier for those involved in the current hunting season.

Life went on – wherever you live, life needs to go on. Whether you need to earn a living or not you need a purpose for life to mean something. We do need to earn a living and we chose the Médoc as a base to do that from for a while, or longer. What I present here is that the things that make the Médoc home for us at the moment are not specific or unique to the Médoc. A person makes their life, a place doesn’t.  A place may certainly have a contribution and influence but only via an individual’s perception or reaction to it.

I love the Médoc, that is probably quite evident from this blog, and I have certainly been enriched by being here. However the  Médoc, for me,  is not just about long warm Summers, wine, forest and beaches. In the coldest of cold Winters you absolutely get a grasp of what keeps you motivated, interested and happy in life – and over this Winter I have time and time again been reminded of the reasons we moved here. And those reasons, closely aligned to our values, would hold true wherever we live,  or wherever our business ventures take us.

It’s been a good Winter, on a number of levels. But I’m certainly ready for the sunshine to kick in!

There are many wonderful things about living in the Médoc and one is certainly our proximity to the majestic Atlantic coastline.   Having enjoyed our fill of sun drenched days by the sea during the Summer months,  the coastline continues to be a draw for our family through the colder, “unpredictable” weather days we are currently experiencing.

I can count on one hand the days without rainfall that we’ve had since the start of October, but  the countryside and coastline of the region continue to hold tremendous charm;  provided you are kitted out with suitable clothing and shoes!

Winter walks along the coastline are one of my favourite things about living here, and with barely another soul in attendance there is a solitude and calm to the coastal towns that give a totally different feel and mood from the Summer months.

Lacanau, Carcans, Hourtin, Soulac – all are as beautiful in the Winter as in the Summer; provided you are someone who loves the freshness and ambiance of a coastline in Winter!

Some friends of ours, who have travelled extensively around the globe, came to visit a few weeks ago and we had a glorious 2 hour walk from Lacanau to Carcans; their verdict was that this stretch of beach was “easily” in their top 3 of beaches experienced. They were genuinely (and literally in some places) blown away by the beauty and scale of both the land and sea scapes.

A benefit to all the rain we’ve had fall in the last few weeks is the bountiful supply of edible funghi we have been able to forage from our garden and nearby forest.

Armed with two identification guides and stomachs of steel we have started to navigate an edible path around the mushrooms labelled “toxique” and “mortel” (pointedly illustrated in our French guide with a skull and crossbones) to source a fresh supply of foraged fayre for our casseroles, curries and pasta dishes.  We are certainly braver than 12 months ago when caution dampened the free-food spirit.  We’ve also discovered that  if you are in distracting doubt about whether a particular mushroom is a delicacy, or poison, you can take it to the local pharmacy for identification; we’ve not reached that level of mushroom frenzy, yet!

Foraging and “mushroom ID”  have become  favoured pastimes for medocjnr1 who sits at length identifying every single difference between the mushroom in hand and the image and description in the guides. Mushroom ID is contagious, it is amazing how much interest recent visitors have taken in kitchen activities when medocjnr1 has arrived with the dinner’s mushroom supply in a muddy bucket.

We have been enjoying a feast of  “Bolet Faux Royal”, “Bolet Bai” and “Cèpe de Bordeaux”; the latter being the king of the mushroom kingdom in our spot of the Médoc; it certainly has a well deserved reputation for taste and texture quality.

But I still quite can’t get my head around eating mushroom that is lurid orange or red, so I am guilty as charged for carelessly dismissing a “Lactaire Délicieux” to the compost bin; the first and last of its kind to be discovered in a our garden so far. I also avoid the ones that look like they are melting; not a good look for convincing me to cook it.

Extreme caution is required when foraging mushrooms to eat but there are many comprehensive and helpful guides, including the River Cottage’s Mushroom handbook, which could well been a lifesaver for us given some of our recent discoveries!

Due to business, pleasure and travelling I’ve been quite lapse at writing posts I had in mind for the last two months,  but I have been continuing to enjoy our life in the Médoc and also a watch on the vines as Winter fast approaches.

Our local landscape has been changing colour, and form, weekly. The acres and acres of vines that we drive past most days have been adorned in crimson red, golden brown,  fluorescent-esque orange and banana yellow. A sea of colour still stretches as far as the eye can see on both the Eastern and Western  horizons of the Route de Soulac. I have been fortunate enough to see the stunning leaves at Fall in Massachusetts and would favourably compare the changing vine leaves; especially when the sun is setting and the sky is clear.

We have been awash with rainfall since Sunday 1st November; having commented to friends last year that the rain nearly always fell at night we’ve certainly been getting better use out of the waterproofs and wellies this Autumn,  and a daily reminder that it is the combination of sun and rain that support the quality of the wine produced in the Médoc.

The Vine Watch has almost gone full cycle for this year. The vines I have kept a visual record of have produced the grapes that will become the 2009 Médoc vintage, one that is already being lauded as one that could be the best for 60 years; and certainly one I am looking forward to tasting.